How deep are the silver coins you find?

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washingtonian

washingtonian

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Sep 26, 2005
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Ok this is JMO on how deep things are in the round. In the interior of BC it's basically very arid and one could scratch the ground with the boot under the big pines and dig up finds that were 100yrs plus old. This hunting spot was a Mile House Location for the gold rush. Large black powder bullets we could still hear the gunpowder in the shell when we shook them. A Seated quarter was only an inch in the soil when we dug it out.
Detecting in the parks in Vancouver and area for 9 months one time everyday, and 6 months another went out everyday.
I had dug coinage 10" down that was only 10-12 yrs old! Why? Because it's a bloody rainforest, rain, rain, rain=sink-sink-sink into the ground.
Dug a Timex-self wind wrist watch down 10"+ and gave it a good shake and it started to tick. Finding Vickie silver was a real treat and was usually scored if the soils were in a drier location.

You are in a similar climate zone so the coinage of any age will be deeper, so it's just getting the coil over them.

Thanks pj, that's specifically really useful because it does rain here a lot. Thank you!
 

Truth

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You found that in a sidewalk strip? Holy Crap!!

I sure did in front of a lawyers office in the middle of the Historic District. I had to park down the street for a parking spot. It was the only strip left on the block. I was looking at it for about a month and one day in the middle of the summer I walked down the block with all my gear on the women shopping in the boutiques thought I was nuts. I pulled my cap down and just went for it. Lol Glad I did. It was solid black not mud black patina I saw no silver at all. I didn’t even know what it was until I got home and clean it. IMG_1998.JPG IMG_1997.JPG
 

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HighVDI

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2" on a silver rosie and 10+ on a 1915 Barber quarter. Dug a few 8+ inch dimes too.
 

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pescadore

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Mar 4, 2007
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Most of the silver coins that I have found have been in the 3-6 inch range. I have found them up to 10" deep but not the norm.
 

OP
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washingtonian

washingtonian

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I sure did in front of a lawyers office in the middle of the Historic District. I had to park down the street for a parking spot. It was the only strip left on the block. I was looking at it for about a month and one day in the middle of the summer I walked down the block with all my gear on the women shopping in the boutiques thought I was nuts. I pulled my cap down and just went for it. Lol Glad I did. It was solid black not mud black patina I saw no silver at all. I didn’t even know what it was until I got home and clean it. View attachment 1539616 View attachment 1539615

Woah, that is totally epic. Those sidewalk strips can be seriously underrated.
 

Rookster

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Somewhere I read that the national average is 6".
 

oldkoot

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While living in OHIO depths of the silvers were all over the depth range charts deepest was around 12 inches out here in Arizona I have yet to find any silvers I believe it has a lot to do with soil conditions and how much rain an area receives Ohio we received all kinds of rain in AZ vary little where I dug in Ohio Ground Balance numbers indicated vary mild soil, AZ on the X TERRA 705 I have seen GB numbers any where from the high to mid 40s and as low as single digits with the 705 the lower the GB numbers the hotter the ground with the 705 when I compare GB numbers with the AT PRO it always told the same as far as soil conditions when comparing the two machines.
 

West Jersey Detecting

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It depends on your soil too. I've dug half reales (Smaller than a dime) at 10 inches with my Teknetics T2, and silver Mercury dimes at 7 or 8 inches with my White's MX Sport. Our soil in Southern New Jersey is sandy with little mineralization. If I cross the river to Pennsylvania I have trouble getting much more than 5 inches with any VLF detector in many spots.
 

bayhawk2

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I think it depends on location.The soil is the gauge.I live in black gumbo country.If there is nothing below (rocks,bricks,etc.)
to stop a coin from going deeper,then I find that silver coins will be deep.6-10 " minimum.
30 years ago they weren't so deep.5-6 ".
Which is why a good detector is a must in my area.
Worse thing is the deeper,the harder the dig.I no longer dig with a small digging tool.
I use a small sharp shooter type shovel.
Finding a silver coin used to be common.Now it's a rare event.I've found only 2 silvers this month.
 

pa-dirt_nc-sand

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Most are 3-5" down. Deepest probably a Seated dime 7-8", did dig one huge 35mm copper coin about 12" down.
 

Nitric

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The deepest silver I've dug were between 8 to 10 in. It was a mercury dime that felt like I was going to need to break out a backhoe. I'm just taking a guess since I didn't actually measure and at times it feels like your digging to china and it's only a few inches. Most of the silver I've found were mercury and Roosevelt dimes. And were mostly within 2 to 4 in. Also usually in old limestone driveways. Or off to the side of old driveways with tight dirt.

The few Franklin and Kennedy halves that I've found were 1 to 4 in. In clay type dirt.

I can find some deep wheats though! I'll bet that I've found those up to and over about 10 in. in places where the top soil was filled. :laughing7:

Also, All but one silver was found in Northern Ohio. That I can remember. :laughing7:
 

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GoDeep

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There's a difference between how deep the coins actually are and how deep does/can a particular individual dig them. Lets say 3 detectorists all detect the same park. If you only have a detector good to 7-8", you're likely to report all your digs are 8" max. If you don't like digging iffy signals, you might report you only find them to 7". And if the third guy has a detector that will repeatedly detect a quarter at 12", you'll report you find them at 12+".
 

Nitric

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There's a difference between how deep the coins actually are and how deep does/can a particular individual dig them. Lets say 3 detectorists all detect the same park. If you only have a detector good to 7-8", you're likely to report all your digs are 8" max. If you don't like digging iffy signals, you might report you only find them to 7". And if the third guy has a detector that will repeatedly detect a quarter at 12", you'll report you find them at 12+".

What do most detectors max out at? I agree with what your saying...I dig everything, I'll even chase the blips, because most times they end up as deep coins. Or with my machine Nickels....My machine doesn't like nickels too well, but will find the smallest nail! :laughing7: Silver comes in pretty strong. But even then usually in the first few inches.
 

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In the woods as shallow as 1", but in the "open soil" in parks, old schools...etc some as deep at 10". I believe in most cases between 5" - 7" are about right.
 

twisttop

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Hey folks,

I am wondering how deep you find silver coins in general? I'm still running the DFX but am considering upgrading because I'm wondering if I'm missing deep silver coins. I don't generally find coins at more than 7" even after tinkering with the settings quite a bit.

Thanks!
-W

I have been surprised how deep some of the clad coins that I have found, 6 inches. I believe they are deep because of mowed grass clipping, leaves and freezing and thawing every year. The silver I have found was 7” in a mowed park. I found a 1946 dime and 50 cent piece at 4 inches deep on Blewett Pass. Today I found Mount Saint Helens Ash (1980)at about 5”. I am also wondering if I am missing deep silver. I am looking into getting a larger coil.
 

marjam

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Nov 17, 2012
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Repeating what everyone else has said. The most shallow for me was about 3 inches, the deepest about 10. I ran the dfx and found silver with it, some pretty deep. You could always get a larger coil for it and it will improve depth. I got the sef coil from detech for mine and it improved the depth some as well. The dfx is a great machine, I found alot of cool things with it, but I got an etrac, and my silver finds went up. If silver is what you are after, the minelab fbs machines seem to, at least for me, find it easier than any machine I have ever owned.
 

Rookster

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I've found in the woods 3" and 7" on the football field. If it's not to trashy where you hunt, the bigger coils often will get you more depth. Open fields that are mowed often the coins will be a little deeper because of the mowers vibration day after day.good luck.
 

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